Baby claws at head

happy2beme

Mon, Nov 12 2007, 11:53 am

My 3 mo old claws at his head. All the time. he just reaches up there & opens & closes his hand on his head- but he really scratches it to the point of bleeding.

Does/Did anyone else's child do this too??

He does have a little cradle cap but I read up on it & it's not supposed to be itchy.

ANyone have any ideas?

thx

happy2beme

Mon, Nov 12 2007, 12:14 pm

green, thx

I did that!! But it doesn't help- there's still a little nail there & it does a lot of damage!!! You can't cut the nails too short- then it would be below the skin.

Ima'la

Mon, Nov 12 2007, 12:17 pm

ECZEMA!

Don't mean to diagnose over a forum like this, but what you wrote sounds like a description of my son (now nearly 5) when he was an infant. Go to a dermatologist or an allergist who treats eczema (an especially good choice if there are allergies in the family, since eczema is often related to allergies).

shoy18

Mon, Nov 12 2007, 12:18 pm

My son did the exact same thing, I used to keep him in hats a lot to keep his hands off his head. I also always put some aveano cream on his head to keep it from being itchy it seemed to help a little

Its a phase I think but its frustrating and it looks like it really hurts yet they never cry from it.

Helani

Mon, Nov 12 2007, 12:42 pm

Mine did the same, his head and neck and face would be covered in scratches. I cut and filed his nails down to the skin and kept gloves on a lot, especially at night. He grew out of that habit, but now every time I take his diaper off he grabs and pulls at his private parts. I learned to give his something to hold whenever I am changing him or giving him a bath.

happy2beme

Mon, Nov 12 2007, 12:49 pm

imala, but he doesn't have any rough patches on his head?

shoy & helani, thank u, I just wanted to make sure it's normal. you know how ur imagination gets the better of you? I'm like, oh my gosh what if it's a symptom of a terrible thing ch"v....

smiley:)

Mon, Nov 12 2007, 1:07 pm

My son does it on his stomach when he is in the bath, and there is no skin irritation at all. It;s just a reaction with him. If I give him a washcloth or my finger to hold it's usually better. With your baby's head it's hard bc it is always there to be scratched

Ima'la

Tue, Nov 13 2007, 4:56 am

I thought my baby just had cradle cap...it even came off when I rubbed it with baby oil in the bath...but it was eczema. I didn't mean to alarm you - but k'dai to check it out - at least next time you're at the pediatrician - esp. if he's scratching so much that it's bleeding.

Rosemarie

Thu, Nov 15 2007, 4:29 pm

My baby does the same thing. She scratches her head and ears, mostly when she's tired or eating I think, but she doesn't even have cradle cap. She also does it to her stomach in the bath. Sounds like it's normal.

gryp

Thu, Nov 15 2007, 7:59 pm

Two of mine did that, both had cradle cap. They had eczema in other places but not on their heads. I pretty much kept their nails short and a hat on their heads.
Anyway, it made me laugh every time. They look exactly like monkeys when they do that, don't they? LOL

amother

Thu, Nov 15 2007, 10:07 pm

I agree with the excema responses. my baby used to turn his head from side to side and I thought it was really weird but then he started scratching also and I realized that was his way of itching (he was lazy from the start lol) and it turned out to be excema. we got a cream for him I think steroids maybe I dont' remember. and it cleared up in a few months. so def show the doc the cradle cap...bec I thought it was cradle cap in the beginning till s/o else mentioned excema and then it hit me that for sure its that.

happy2beme

Tue, Nov 20 2007, 11:31 am

Thanks everyone!!! & especially to Ima'la- the first one to say exzema

I asked the dr about it & I should've waited to hear his ideas first, but right away I said 'can it be exzema'. & he said yes. so I said what's the diff bet exzema & cradle cap & he said it's really the same thing. which I don't agree- how could it be the same thing- cradle cap isn't supposed to itch at all- & they look diff...

anyway, he gave a cream & when I put it on he doesn't scratch so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! thank u so much! I can't believe all this time (ok, nto really so long- couple of weeks) he's been in pain....

gr, it's not so funny when baby makes himself bleed from the scratching- I hate it. my 5 yo even knows to pull his hand gently away from his head when he starts that...

gryp

Tue, Nov 20 2007, 11:39 am

Quote:

gr, it's not so funny when baby makes himself bleed from the scratching- I hate it.

ouch. you're right. mine never went that far.

happy2beme

Tue, Nov 20 2007, 11:47 am

GR wrote:

Quote:

gr, it's not so funny when baby makes himself bleed from the scratching- I hate it.

ouch. you're right. mine never went that far.

it was crazy- he had little scratches ALL OVER his head. Now with the cream- nothing! I am so happy.
Thanks again ima'la.
(I don't think the pediatrician would've diagnosed it as exzema if I wouldn't have suggested it to him. he could've just said it's cradle cap & let it go... he's not really very into medicines. he was like, u want cream? then his head will be all greasy. I told him to his face- I would rather his head greasy them him bleeding. I don't get him! yes, I've been thinking of switching dr's...)

NotInNJMommy

Tue, Nov 20 2007, 11:47 am

cradle cap as it was explained to me is actually quite intense dandruff....

eczema is....excema...however it is spelled...

maybe the dr. meant that they look alike, not that they are alike. My children had cradle cap and didn't itch, so I don't think itching is a symptom of cradle cap.

happy2beme

Tue, Nov 20 2007, 11:54 am

NJMommy wrote:

he said some quote like, "it's a sixth and half a dozen..." & he said that means they're pretty much the same...
my other kids also had cradle cap & never scratched themselves...